The Grease Trails

Ooligan are a small smelt-like fish used by First Nations peoples for centuries as a food-source as well as a medicine. The fish are almost 20 percent oil by weight.

Ooligan oil is made by fermenting and then cooking the fish. Called gleetna or simply grease, ooligan oil is a high-energy food source and a cultural keystone for many coastal Indian tribes.

The grease itself is as fundamental to the cultures of many First Nations as butter is to Europeans.

In the 1700s a vast network of "grease trails" stretched from Alaska to the Fraser River, even crossing the northern Rockies. The name "Grease Trail" was given to these travel routes, because the most important trade item carried over them was grease made from a tiny smelt-like fish called ooligan.

Teresa Goff follows the grease trail from Alert Bay, on an island in northern British Columbia, to the end of Knights Inlet, the longest fjord in British Columbia.

At the head of Knights Inlet, she watches as the Namgis make grease.

A year later, she takes the grease and delivers it to the western most reaches of Vancouver Island. Hide full description

Ooligan are a small smelt-like fish used by First Nations peoples for centuries as a food-source as well as a medicine. The fish are almost 20 percent oil by weight. Ooligan oil is made by fermenting and then cooking the fish. Called gleetna or simply grease, ooligan oil is a high-energy food source and a cultural keystone for many coastal Indian tribes. The grease itself is as fundamental to the cultures of many First Nations as butter is to Europeans. In the 1700s a vast network of "grease trails" stretched from Alaska to the Fraser River, even crossing the northern Rockies. The name "Grease Trail" was given to these travel routes, because the most important trade item carried over them was grease made from a tiny smelt-like fish called ooligan. Teresa Goff follows the... Show full description